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Parked, inoperable vehicle totaled by drunk driver in Texas - do we call our insurance? What can we expect? (self.legaladvice)

jerseyproud が 投稿

Nothing new about the crazy neighbor (she's sent me same text, every day, at least twice a day since last Friday), but I do have something else to ask:

This is in Texas. The transmission in our Explorer went a couple months ago, so I parked it in front of my friend's house (with her permission), until my husband could decide what to do with it. The registration and insurance are both valid.

Tonight, a drunk driver slammed into the truck, pushed it 250 feet up the curb and destroyed the trunk and backseat. Nobody was in or around the truck or the driver's car when it happened, thank god, and she apparently only suffered minor injuries. The damage is pretty severe, so it's almost certainly totaled.

The driver had an open container in the front seat and had a friend following her, who witnesses say immediately gave her more alcohol and instructed her to drink it, which she did. The driver then tried to leave the scene, witnesses intervened and tried to physically restrain her, and she almost made it back to her house when the police arrived. She was arrested and, according to the police, "she's already in jail."

Witnesses also told us that two weeks prior, she did the same thing - drove drunk and slammed into a parked car - but fled and made it home on foot, then locked herself in the house and somehow avoided being arrested. I don't know how true that is.

The truck wasn't operable at the time of the accident because of the transmission. How do we proceed from here? What can we expect? Her husband came over at one point and said because we'd abandoned the truck, we weren't entitled to anything. The police told him renewing the registration and maintaining insurance demonstrates we did not abandon the truck. But are we still entitled to anything because it was inoperable? My husband wasn't sure if he wanted to repair it or sell it, so it's not like we can say we 100% intended to fix and drive it.

Should we contact our insurance? We have full coverage, but I don't know if we're supposed to involve our insurance for an accident with an inoperable car that we weren't in. If she doesn't have insurance, we can afford to wait and go after her instead of going through our insurance, so is that an option?

Sorry for all of the stupid questions, normally I would know what to do, but I'm a little emotional and never dealt with an accident where the vehicle was parked and inoperable.

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[–]SagittariaKnows 43 ポイント44 ポイント  (21子コメント)

You're OK to be emotional.

Yes. Tell your insurance company. The car was insured. The transmission is probably REALLY wrecked at this point.

Let your insurance company fight the drunk.

(I'm going to say the transmission karma gods smiled on you on this one.)

Her husband came over at one point and said because we'd abandoned the truck, we weren't entitled to anything.

He's threatening you and is trying to be a bully. Don't talk to him. Don't talk to her. let your insurance company handle this.

If she doesn't have insurance, we can afford to wait and go after her instead of going through our insurance, so is that an option?

You didn't do anything wrong. You have coverage. Your insurance company will handle this. They will end up suing her and if she's judgement proof (you can't get blood from a stone) they will make this right for you and will keep going after her for years.

You don't need to worry. You did nothing wrong. You're allowed to be emotional. You're not at fault. Report it (and don't talk to her husband or her)

Breathe :) It's OK.

[–]jerseyproud[S] 15 ポイント16 ポイント  (12子コメント)

Thank you. I don't even know why I'm so upset, in the world of car accidents, this is seriously the best situation for which we could ask: inoperable vehicle, parked with no one in it, no kids around to get crushed, no one else in her car. It just sucks to show up and see 30 people standing around and your truck smashed to pieces :/

He literally picked up his phone and is calling our insurance right now. All we have is a card with a case number on it from one of the officers, but he said to call tomorrow with that number and they'll give us everything we need. The other thing I forgot to add, was one of the officers mentioned to my husband that the truck was technically parked illegally because it was facing the wrong direction (it was supposed to be parked front-to-back, but instead it was back-to-front). He said if it sat long enough, someone probably would've ticketed it. But that shouldn't affect anything, right? I mean, she would've hit it no matter which way it was parked.

[–]SagittariaKnows 12 ポイント13 ポイント  (11子コメント)

But that shouldn't affect anything, right?

No. Parking it the other way would have not changed the "crash path" the drunk driver took.

It just sucks to show up and see 30 people standing around and your truck smashed to pieces :/

It does and it's nerve wracking. This is why you have insurance.

in the world of car accidents, this is seriously the best situation for which we could ask: inoperable vehicle, parked with no one in it, no kids around to get crushed, no one else in her car.

Yep. Your hubby was trying to figure out what to do about the transmission and someone else made that call for you. It could have been a simple fix but now? It's not an issue.

Don't worry. You're in for a bunch of paperwork and some phone calls from the insurance company. You weren't in the vehicle. The vehicle was parked. The driver is in jail. Sounds pretty cut and dry.

With full coverage you have uninsured motorist, I'm guessing?

[–]jerseyproud[S] 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (3子コメント)

Yes, we have uninsured motorist coverage :)

[–]SagittariaKnows 11 ポイント12 ポイント  (2子コメント)

NICE! So No worries! They'll take this head on. ESPECIALLY with a police report and an arrest.

Your Explorer problem is over (I love Fords but Explorers are kinda known as "Exploders" as they randomly have issues that randomly occur and will screw a whole system. Try another model :D )

[–]jerseyproud[S] 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Hahahaha, we totally refer to it as the Exploder, and when I was due for a new car last summer I told the dealer absolutely no more Explorers for that reason. Now I drive a Fusion with the fancy Ford Sync and while I miss having a huge trunk, I love it (and the fact that instead of $80 for 160 miles, I can go 420 miles for $30!)

[–]SagittariaKnows 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's too funny. I hope you save some pictures from it's demise. It could be a hysterical scrapbook page in a few years.

Good luck and get some rest :)

[–]jerseyproud[S] 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (6子コメント)

I think so, he's on the phone with them now explaining the accident, so I'll ask him when he's done. I know we have "maxed everything," but I'm not the one who handles our policy (that'd be him). But the police didn't say anything about her having not insurance, and they had our insurance and out-of-state registration info before we even got there just from running our out-of-state license plate, so I'm guessing they would've known and told us if she didn't.

[–]SagittariaKnows 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (5子コメント)

I mis-read that. I skipped the "if" in your "if she didn't have insurance" No worries. If you're maxed out then you don't have anything to worry about (but you may be paying more than you need to :D head over to /r/insurance when this is all done and settled and talk to some agents about what you really need. I used to do that too until I looked at options and learned how to pick from the insurance buffet.)

Your insurance company will help you out.

Let us know how it turns out!

[–]jerseyproud[S] 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (4子コメント)

We will definitely do that, we're not very insurance-savvy and my husband literally just says, "max everything!" when we buy a new car, so we are probably way overpaying, hahaha.

Thank you so much for answering so quickly so late on a Saturday night, I feel infinitely better now! :)

[–]SagittariaKnows 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (3子コメント)

You are probably in the best situation right now because he said "max everything." See what the insurance company does and come back anytime.

I'm glad you feel better. Go hug your honey and get some sleep.

[–]jerseyproud[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Thank you for your reassurance and answering so quickly last night :) After talking to the insurance company, we calmed down and were able to forget about it and get some sleep. The woman from the insurance company made it seem like this is a very straight-forward case and they'll do all of the work for us, so we're no longer worried about it!

[–]SagittariaKnows 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's great to hear. I'm glad it went well

[–]SagittariaKnows 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

P.S. Thanks for the gold!

[–]79augold 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (6子コメント)

So either a troll or the boyfriend of this drunk driver just posted the other side of this.

[–]SagittariaKnows 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (4子コメント)

I saw that here.

That could be interesting to see.

[–]jerseyproud[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (3子コメント)

Would it be a bad idea to comment there? I kind of want to say, "hey, you forgot to mention the part where she was driving under the influence and had a BAC of >.15," but I don't want to jeopardize anything!

[–]SagittariaKnows 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (2子コメント)

:) I think you might want to just watch. It could get ugly.

A few of us were wondering if this was the same scenario.

[–]jerseyproud[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

I couldn't help myself, I ended up commenting :/ It doesn't look like he's responding, though, so maybe he abandoned the post when he realized I had already posted the details he conveniently forgot to mention.

[–]SagittariaKnows 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Possibly. This will be interesting to see unfold.

[–]jerseyproud[S] 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

It very well could be a troll, though I'm 99% positive I have never named Killeen as our location (we live on post, and I always say Fort Hood). I'm going through my post history to check, but I think that might actually be him!

[–]DukeMaximum 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Thanks for this post. I'm not OP, but it's always encouraging to see some compassion on the internet.

[–]TackleboxMeowMeow 7 ポイント8 ポイント  (11子コメント)

The driver had an open container in the front seat and had a friend following her, who witnesses say immediately gave her more alcohol and instructed her to drink it, which she did.

Logic behind that? To get more drunk....? Weakens her case and increases her possible punishment even more....

[–]jerseyproud[S] 16 ポイント17 ポイント  (8子コメント)

We think she was trying to set herself up to claim she drank after the accident, so they couldn't prove she was drunk during the accident. Which makes us wonder how many times she's done this that she already has a contingency plan in place, and also why the fuck did her friend just not drive her home in the first place?! Two of the witnesses were taking video of her and she actually turned to the camera and said, "bottoms up!" and chugged. It's a very upsetting video.

[–]TackleboxMeowMeow 12 ポイント13 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Well, that's a pretty stupid idea and it never works...

And they have a video of her doing it? Jesus..... she'll be in a jail cell soon, one way or the other.

[–]jerseyproud[S] 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (0子コメント)

There's no video of the actual accident, the neighbor's security camera only caught the front of our truck moving towards the base of his driveway, but the cell phone videos start when she gets out of the car and ends with the police arresting her. I didn't see the whole thing (I was too pissed to watch it at that point), but the police made it clear she was in jail before we were even notified and she won't be going home anytime soon.

[–]scootersbricks 3 ポイント4 ポイント  (5子コメント)

It worked on The Practice.

Although Bobby did fire a loaded gun in the courtroom and won the case once if I remember right, so I guess TV isn't always 100% accurate.

In the show, a guy was borderline drunk and wasn't sure what he'd blow, so his lawyer told him, "Go outside, take a couple drinks from your flask, and look visibly stressed. Tell the cops that you hadn't drank at all but after the crash needed to 'take the edge off.' You'll get a public intoxication or open container violation at most, but avoid the DUI."

Of course later on she faced some ethics issues due in part to this, and again--TV law isn't the same as real law. The same show had a judge decide that a pig with a check drawn on it counted as a legal check for owed taxes when said pig was released in the capitol building.

[–]improperlycited 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (2子コメント)

A check written on a pig probably would count as a legal check, though.

[–]scootersbricks 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (1子コメント)

In the show, a delinquent taxpayer wrote his account number, routing number, amount,signature, etc. on a pig and released it at the capitol. The judge ruled that even though the state did not "cash" the pig, said pig was legal tender for the debt and dismissed charges.

Man I miss that show.

[–]ultralame 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That is exactly why I didn't watch that show. ;)

[–]JeanNaimard_WouldSay 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

I guess TV isn't always 100% accurate.

It’s just a pity that that drunk bitch won’t be facing Judge Judy. The tongue lashing would be absolutely epic…

[–]jerseyproud[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Haha, well, it didn't work for this chick - we learned this morning she was charged with driving under the influence, having an open container, having a BAC of >.15 and leaving the scene of an accident!

[–]SagittariaKnows 6 ポイント7 ポイント  (1子コメント)

Logic behind that?

There is some kind of rumor/idea that if you spike the meter into a "walking dead range" like blowing a .94 because you just did 5 shots and the machine freaked out you can't get charged.

There is no logic behind it - just attempts for people to try to beat a system that knows about the "mouthwash trick" as well. sigh

[–]improperlycited 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Or the idea that the breathalyzer demonstrates that you have been drinking but not when, and can't prove you were drunk at the time of the accident.

[–]eric987235 5 ポイント6 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Even with a dead transmission that car had value and you're entitled to recoup that value.

Get your insurance involved. This is what you pay for.

[–]jerseyproud[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (1子コメント)

My husband called last night right after I posted here. We should be hearing from them on Monday, and then I guess they'll tell us what to do next. Thank you!

[–]ultralame 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

Let's say replacing the transmission in that car costs $2000. If you could sell the car with the replacement done for $6000, the non-operable car was worth about $4000 before the crash (I suppose you could argue that you have to deduct the costs of towing it to a garage, etc from that $4k, but you get the picture).

[–]rkoloeg 4 ポイント5 ポイント  (3子コメント)

You aren't by chance in Killeen, are you? There is another post on this sub with a somewhat similar story, but from the opposite side...

[–]jerseyproud[S] 1 ポイント2 ポイント  (2子コメント)

Holy shit! Yes we sure are, and I am 100% positive I did not name the location, even in my post history. What are the chances?!?

[–]rkoloeg 2 ポイント3 ポイント  (1子コメント)

You didn't, but the other poster did.

[–]jerseyproud[S] 0 ポイント1 ポイント  (0子コメント)

That's what I mean - if he's a troll, how would he know the location where the accident occurred (which is the next town over from where we actually live)? That has to be him!